Interviews with the Gaang: POST TBR
by Myah
Summary: After Sokka and Zuko's return from the Boiling Rock, there are a lot of issues that would be on the minds of our heroes. DOES NOT REFLECT CANON FINALE, but my fears heading into it.
1. Interviews with the Gaang: Zuko

**A/N: **_These interviews are set just after The Boiling Rock. I wanted to have all of them done before The Southern Raiders aired... but as you can see, that didn't exactly happen. So please ignore the doubts I raise in these: they were my fears for the finale._

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**Interviews with the Gaang: Zuko**

_My name is Myah, and I'm the interviewer assigned to the Gaang. However, they've been rather hard to track down. After much searching, I caught Zuko right after the release of the Fire: Volume 3 DVD, relaxing at the Western Air Temple. I was fortunate enough to get him to agree to answer a few questions for the general fandom on his thoughts and opinions at this point: so close to the finale. _

**Myah:** Thanks for agreeing to do this for us, Zuko. It's much appreciated.

**Zuko:** Not like I had a choice.

_(He glares at me- I ignore him)_

**Myah: **Now- the question at the front of every fan girl's mind: are you and Mai officially separated now?

_(Zuko looks away)_

**Myah:** Is that too personal?

**Zuko:** No, I guess not. I thought so, but.. I don't know.

**Myah:** So why didn't you tell her about your decision to her face? Why a letter?

**Zuko:** I guess I was.. ashamed. And scared.

**Myah:** Ashamed? Of what?

**Zuko:** Mai's great- but I was never really honest with her. I mean, I was- about how I felt about being home- but not about my feelings for her. When we were younger, I really liked her. But when I got back home, all that was …

**Myah: **Gone?

**Zuko:** Not really. It was just that I'd changed so much. We didn't really click like we used to. It just didn't seem... right anymore.

**Myah:** Wow. I always assumed that you just didn't want her to call the guards on you.

_(Zuko laughs)_

**Zuko:** Yeah, that too.

**Myah: **But what about her unexpected turnaround? Didn't it change your feelings?

**Zuko:** … Maybe. I don't know. I just wish we could have gone back for her- Azula wouldn't have shown any mercy.

**Myah:** So what about Katara?

_(Zuko doesn't answer; I don't think he heard me)_

**Myah:** Hello- Zuko?

_(He finally looks up)_

**Myah:** What about Katara?

_(Zuko blinks confusedly)_

**Zuko:** Katara? That waterbender? What about her?

**Myah:** A lot of the fans think that you two will make a great couple…

**Zuko:** WHAT? She's a waterbending peasant! The Avatar's in love with her- at least I think he is. Why would they put the two of us together?

**Myah:** Well, there's one theory that your kids could be "steam babies"- a new line of airbenders.

_(Zuko snorts)_

**Zuko:** That's NOT how bending is passed on.

**Myah:** There's also the ying-yang theory, and the fact that a lot of your more extreme qualities are balanced out by her- and vice versa. They think you'll make a very supportive couple. Plus, she's not just a peasant. Among her people, she's something of a princess- the daughter of the leader of the Southern Water Tribe.

**Zuko:** A tribe of old women and children.

_(Zuko is silent for a couple of seconds)_

**Zuko:** Anyway, she's still not my type. Plus, she hates me.

**Myah:** A lot of..

**Zuko:** Can we stop talking about her?

**Myah:** I have one more question about her, though. If she offers to heal your scar again, will you accept?

_(He touches the edge of the scar, is silent for a while, then sighs.)_

**Zuko:** I've grown so used to it- it's a part of me. It reminds me of what I've been through- and that I've come out stronger for it. So, to answer your question- no, I won't.

**Myah:** Okay, then. Another question: what about Iroh?

_(Zuko is silent)_

**Zuko:** I don't want to talk about him, either. And don't ask me about why I left.

**Myah:** Zuko?

_(He looks away for a couple of minutes, and doesn't answer)_

**Myah:** Okay, then. Let's move on to the events that just happened: the rescue of Sokka's father. Why did you go with him?

**Zuko:** The little idiot would've gotten himself captured if he went off on his own.

**Myah:** But you could have woke the others- stopped him from going in the first place. We know that honor is important to you, and his mentioning it played a large part in your decision to follow him, but was that all?

**Zuko:** Yeah, that's it.

_At this point, the interview is interrupted by the arrival of the earthbender, Toph._

**Toph:** You're lying.

**Myah:** Hello, Toph. Nice of you to join us.

**Toph:** No prob. And if you're giving out interviews, you might want to at least tell the truth. No sense in it otherwise.

_(Zuko is silent. I have the feeling that he's run into Toph's ability to detect lies before)._

**Zuko:** He was going after his father.

**Myah:** Ah- Ursa.

_(He looks at me, then nods- after glaring at Toph.)_

**Myah:** Do you plan on looking for her?

**Zuko:** I don't know. I'd like to see her, talk to her, but I don't know. Going out like that would put the Avatar at risk, and I'm sure my father has a bounty on my head already. I have to concentrate on training him. Plus, if she's in hiding, me finding her would just expose her.

_(I look at Toph, who's lying there silently. Her eyes are closed, and she says nothing. I have the feeling that there's more here, but I'm sure that the issue of parents is a sensitive one here, so I move on.)_

**Myah:** Now, about the finale. There's a general agreement that although Aang will be the one to face your father, you'll have to fight- and defeat- Azula. Do you think you can do that; if it comes to it, will you be able to kill your own sister?

_(Zuko looks at me and walks away)_

**Zuko: **This interview is over. Do what you want- I'm not answering any more questions.

_Zuko walks off, and I'm left in the room with Toph. We're silent for a while._

**Toph:** Some things, you just don't ask.

_She walks off, and leaves me to my musings._


	2. Interviews with the Gaang: Toph

**A/N:**_ C'mon- who wouldn't LOVE the chance to get inside Toph's head?_

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**Interviews with the Gaang: Toph**

_After talking to Zuko, I thought it would be wise to talk to the rest of the gang before they moved out of the temple, as Katara had been suggesting. Thus, early the next morning, I found myself observing the end of Toph's earthbending session with Aang. After he left, I sat down opposite Toph in the middle of the large room, surrounded by the relics of an age past._

**Myah:** So, Toph, I have an obvious first question.

**Toph:** Wait- I have two rules for this interview. No mushy stuff, and none of what we talk about gets back to the others.

**Myah:** Well, I'll try. Okay, so how's Aang's training going?

**Toph:** Good, actually. He's really starting to act- and think –like an earthbender.

**Myah:** Are you teaching him metalbending as well?

**Toph:** I'd like to- after all, I won't always be there to bust down doors for him. But he's not ready for that yet. Soon, but not yet.

**Myah:** What I'd also like to know is how it was for you- having to learn all this on your own.

**Toph:** Not really- the badgermoles were always there. They understood what I was trying to do, and helped me out a lot. They were my masters. I didn't learn alone. And when I really wanted to challenge myself against other benders, I became the Blind Bandit and entered Earth Rumble.

**Myah:** How old were you when you won your first belt?

**Toph:** Ten.

**Myah:** Wow. An amazing accomplishment for one so young. But weren't you ever tempted to tell your parents the truth- especially on the day you won it?

**Toph:** No.

**Myah:** Never?

**Toph:** Can we move on? I _told_ you, no!

_(The earth shook when she stomped her foot at the end of that statement; I thought it best to comply.)_

**Myah:** You seem to be more accepting of Zuko's presence than the others. Can you tell me why?

**Toph:** Stupid question. So you tell me.

**Myah: **Well, the obvious answer is that aside from when you surprised him in his sleep, he's never attacked you. So you didn't have any prejudice against him.

**Toph:** Wow- so you're not as stupid as you seem.

_(I laugh, though still a bit hurt.)_

**Myah:** Ouch, Toph. But then again, you'd surely heard about the problems he'd caused. You saw the result of his betrayal at Ba Sing Se. Personally, I always thought that you gave him what you wished your parents had given you: the chance to prove that hewas more than people wanted to see him to be.

_(Silence. Toph looks away for a while, and then turns back.) _

**Toph:** I thought I said no mushy stuff.

**Myah:** Sure, Toph. Let's move on. Were you upset when Sokka and Zuko left you behind when they went to the Boiling rock?

**Toph:** Huh? No! Why should I be? If they wanted to run off and do some manly bonding, why should _I_ be upset?

**Myah:** And what about Suki? Do you get along with her?

**Toph:** Why shouldn't I?

**Myah: **Well, considering that you have a crush on her boyfri-

**Toph:** WHAAT?

_(The earth rocks; a nearby statue topples over)_

**Toph:** Who said that?

**Myah:** Actually, you did.

**Toph:** I don't have a crush on Sokka! I'm not like Aang- to fall for the first pretty face that pays me any attention!

**Myah:** How did you know- anyway, the way you feel is kind of obvious, Toph. From the way you act around him, and how you're blushing now, and how you blushed when he came back from his sword training-

**Toph:** I didn't!

**Myah:** Toph, I have pictures!

**Toph:** Well you can't exactly show me, can you?

_(I'm silent. I stare at her green eyes, at the light green film that covers her pupils and renders her sightless. I don't even notice that my voice has softened when I speak.)_

**Myah:** Toph-

**Toph:** Before you ask, I was born blind. And no, it didn't make earthbending harder. How could it when I never knew any other way? My bending is my world- literally.

**Myah:** I still worry, though.

_(I put down my stationery, and prepare to break rule number 1- don't get personally involved with your subjects. But then again, this was the gaang. This was **Toph. **How could I resist?)_

**Myah:** Honestly, Toph. You're one of my favourites among the gaang. I'd hate to see you get hurt, and I fear that you will. I know that you're the most powerful earthbender in the world, but you're still one with a very major weakness. Is that weakness one you can afford to have in the fnal battle?

_(There's silence for a long time.)_

**Toph:** I don't know. I just don't know. But there's nothing I can do about it.

_(She smiles faintly, and I want to cry.)_

**Toph: **We'll just have to wait and see.

_Toph leaves, and I head in the opposite direction, away from the camp. I wipe tears out of my eyes, grieving for the potential loss of the character I'd come to care for; the bender I'd come to respect; the blind twelve year old who' d seen more than I'd ever given her credit for._


	3. Interviews with the Gaang: Sokka

_**A/N:** This was the hardest of all the interviews to do- and I have to thank Liliedhe of ASN for her help in sorting through Sokka's character. As she told me in a PM, he hides under a shield that many don't even recognise as one. So here, I tried to lift it and took a look at the man beneath it._

**

* * *

****Interviews with the Gaang: Sokka**

_I stand in a corner of the room, watching Sokka finish give Suki a tour of the Western Air Temple. Suki spots me first, and attracts his attention to where I stand waiting. He turns to look at me; a short conversation follows. She eventually waves him off and walks away; he looks after her a while, then approaches me._

**Sokka:** So you're ready to interview me, huh?

**Interviewer:** That's right.

_(Someone's stomach rumbled- it wasn't mine.)_

**Sokka:** Can we talk while we head back to camp? I'm starving.

**Interviewer:** No problem.

_(We start strolling back, taking a longer route than the one I'd used.)_

**Interviewer:** It's obvious that you're ecstatic about having both your dad and Suki here.

**Sokka:** Yeah- it's great having everyone together like this.

**Myah: **I have to ask you this, though Sokka- especially after the events crossing the Serpent's Pass. What about Yue? Do you still feel the same way about her?

_(Sokka looks away from me. He's silent for a while.)_

**Sokka:** Yes, and no. I still love her- and I don't think that's ever going to change. But she's not around anymore, so I'll have to move on. Almost every night, and especially when the moon's full, I find myself thinking about her. And I know it sounds cliché, but I know she won't want me to just moon around…

_(We both stare at each other at his unintentional pun, trying not to laugh. I quickly move on.)_

**Myah: **How did you- no, that's not it. What is it about two girls that seem so different that drew you to them?

**Sokka: **They're not that different. Suki's a warrior through and through. But as she told me just before we left Kyoshi, she's a girl, too. Yue was a princess- about as girly as you can get- but she had the strength, loyalty and dedication to match any warrior.

**Myah: **Two sides of the same coin?

**Sokka:** Yeah. I guess so.

**Myah: **So what does your father think of her?

**Sokka: **He likes her- actually, I think he's more determined to protect her from me than to protect me from her.

_(I had to laugh at that statement)_

**Myah: **I also want to ask you about your last plan. That didn't turn out well.

_(His steps slow; I match mine to his changed stride. We come to a stop before he answers.)_

**Sokka: **It was a disaster. Don't worry- I think I'm coming to accept that now. What Zuko told me outside that prison- well, it helped. More than he knows.

_(We resume walking.)_

**Myah: **So how are you two getting along?

**Sokka: **Pretty good, actually. But he's a terrible hunter.

**Myah: **No more arguments?

**Sokka: **Well, I wouldn't say that. But I'm getting to know him better. And he's a pretty cool guy, from what I see- despite the fact that he's a firebender. I just wish that Katara could see that.

**Myah: **Why? Has she been causing trouble?

**Sokka: **It's just really uncomfortable. I mean, I like picking on Zuko just as much as the others, but she's just… mean. After a while, it starts to get to you.

**Myah: **And I take it she hasn't been too pleased with your change of heart?

**Sokka: **No, she hasn't.

**Myah: **I have one more question, Sokka. You've travelled all over the world with the others. You've seen them do some pretty amazing stuff. So how can you still be so… flippant about bending?

**Sokka: **I'm not- not really. _(He rests his hand against the sword at his side as he speaks.)_ I have to admit- sometimes, watching the others train, it used to make me feel really- weak. Helpless. But Aang was right- getting a master really helped. Master Piandao helped me see that I have my own strengths- and my own methods. I don't have to measure up to the others- I just have to be me. The guy who prefers to deal with what he knows- what he can feel, touch, deal with directly. A simple guy.

_(At this point, as he smiles at his statement, I notice that night has fallen, and we've arrived back at the camp.)_

**Myah: **Meat, sarcasm, boomerang, sword and idea guy?

**Sokka: **You've got it!

_I watch him walk away towards Katara, bending over a pot of what smells like stew._

_Later on, as we sit around talking after dinner, I watch as he seems to slip into the past. Zuko, sitting next to him, rests a hand on his shoulder; Sokka looks at him with a sad smile. He takes Suki's hand; she smiles at him and turns back to her conversation with Katara. When he thinks himself unobserved not long after, I see him staring up at the moon._

_It's full tonight._

_Sokka: a simple guy, with hidden depths._


	4. Interviews with the Gaang: Katara

**A/N:** _I have to ask your forgiveness for this chapter. Not only am I posting it while still unhappy with it, but I'm also introducing an element that is only revealed later on. I wanted to deal with it in relation to something else, and moving the interview to after that episode would have brought a whole new slew of issues that I'm not ready to talk about yet- plus, it would have thrown off the order of this series. Therefore, bear with me as I try to do this with as little pain as possible to the readers' sensibilities. _

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**Interviews with the Gaang: Katara**

_Late that night I was awake, thinking of the interviews I'd done so far, when a shape rose from the general sleeping area. I focused- and could barely make out the swing of waist- length hair as the figure crossed the floor and disappeared around a corner. I followed silently as she made her way to one of the larger fountains the Temple held. There she sat, staring into the water, until I approached._

**Katara:** I'm surprised that you're still awake.

**Myah:** It's a full moon tonight- I thought I'd stay up a bit and enjoy it.

**Katara****:** I used to do that. I used to love full moons. Now, all they remind me of is _her._

**Myah****:** Hama.

_(She looks at me, surprised. But she doesn't ask anything- I suspect they've been talking about my knowledge of every aspect of their journey.)_

**Katara:** Yeah.

**Myah:** Do you think she's still alive?

**Katara:** I don't know. I don't think I _want_ to know.

_(There's a pause here. I suspect she knows what my next question will be.)_

**Myah:** Katara, do you think you'll ever-

**Katara:** No. I'll never use that technique again.

**Myah:** Even if you have to do so to save Sokka, or your father- or Aang?

_(She's silent, staring at the moon reflected in the fountain's still waters.)_

**Myah:** You know, a lot of people write about you. Several of them have pointed out that bloodbending can be used for healing.

**Katara:** No.

**Myah:** It can't?

**Myah:** Maybe- yeah- but to learn how means that I'm going to have to practice. And I'm not going to do that. I just wish I could forget that I ever learnt how to do it.

**Myah: **So I take it you won't be teaching it to Aang?

**Katara:** Exactly.

**Myah:** What about healing?

**Katara:** I'm sure he can do it- he's the Avatar, after all. But not just yet.

**Myah:** Katara, you won't always be there to heal his wounds, you know.

_(Again, there is silence. I decide to switch to a more pleasant topic.) _

**Myah:** Before the Invasion, had you ever suspected that he was in love with you?

_(A deep blush appears at that query.)_

**Katara:** No. But I did wonder. Back before we met Toph, we were lost in this cave-

**Myah:** The Cave of Two Lovers?

**Katara:** Yeah. _(She gives me an odd look.)_ You sure know a lot about us- and honestly? It's kind of freaky. Anyway, when we... well, back then I thought there might be something. But I ignored it. It seems that I shouldn't have.

**Myah:** So how _do_ you feel about him?

**Katara:** Ever since then I've been trying to figure that out- and honestly? I just don't know.

**Myah:** Katara, throughout the series we've heard about your mother, but one thing we don't know is what exactly happened to her. Do you mind telling me?

_(After a long pause, I wonder if she will. But then she starts talking- and her story brings tears to both of our eyes, and a heaviness to my heart. When she closes with the discovery of her mother's body, the silence stretches as I try to digest this. There's one element, however, that reminds me of another point I wanted to bring up with her- and I wonder. )_

**Myah:** How old were you at the time?

**Katara:** Just over five.

**Myah:** Losing a parent is hard on anyone- but to lose her at such a young age. It must have scarred you.

**Katara:** Everyone has their own scars. Mine are just less visible.

_(At her mention of scars, I see her tense- she probably suspects where I'm headed already.)_

**Myah:** Betrayal is always hard to deal with. Especially if it comes from someone we love.

_(Katara looks at me as if I'm crazy.)_

**Katara:** I don't love Zuko!

**Myah: **Whoever said I was talking about Zuko?

_(We're silent for a while as she tries to puzzle this out.)_

**Katara: **Now I _really _have no idea what you're talking about.

**Myah: **Your mother promised that everything was going to be alright. But they weren't, were there?

**Katara:** Wait- my _mother?_ You think I'm upset because my _mother betrayed me?_ That makes no sense!

**Myah:** Really? Katara, you were five years old. Your village has been attacked several times by the Fire Nation. You would have heard stories growing up- maybe even had nightmares. Then one of those comes to life: a Fire Nation raid. Your mother tells you everything's going to be alright. But she lied, didn't she.

_(She glares at me.)_

**Myah: **It's a fact that a lot of people have betrayed you, Katara; lied to you. Your father left when he was supposed to protect you. Jet used you to get his own revenge. Hama betrayed your trust to carry on her hatred. Your mother broke her promise. Zuko...

**Katara:** If you're about to tell me that I'm over-reacting about him, think again. He DID betray me- and I have all the right in the world to be furious about it! _(I stay silent as she vents- mostly from a well-placed sense of self-preservation; the water behind her erupts as she speaks.)_

**Katara:** Yes, yes, yes! Is that what you wanted to hear? I was angry with all of them! I was _furious_ that they lied to me! And it just keeps happening- over and over again! Is my judgment just that bad? Are the people I trust just destined to betray me? Like _all of them_ did?

_She storms off, leaving me alone, sitting next to the fountain under the glow of the full moon._

* * *

_The next morning, she avoids looking at me at breakfast- which is a good thing, since I'm still a bit rattled by the night's events. But after the others start a debate about whose turn it is to go hunting- Zuko is adamant that it's Haru's turn- she approaches me. We move out of the others' hearing._

**Katara:** Firstly, I'm not sorry about last night.

**Myah:** Good. Because you were just being honest- which is exactly what I want.

_(She looks dubious.)_

**Katara:** You _wanted_ me to explode at you?

**Myah:** You can say that.

**Katara:** You're strange. You're very strange.

**Myah:** I know. But let's forget about your mother, Zuko and betrayals for a while. How does it feel having your father back?

**Katara:** It's great. We get along much better now. And he's a great diversion whenever Sokka gets too full of himself- the stories he tells!

**Myah: **You've lost one parent to this war already- don't you fear that you're going to lose him too?

**Katara:** Of course I'm scared. We all are. Aang may be powerful, but is he really strong enough to defeat Ozai? And we don't even know if he can enter the Avatar state anymore. Sokka's a great warrior- but he's going up in battle against people with skills he can't hope to match- with the girl he loves at his side. Even if he survives, I don't know how he'll cope if something happens to her.

**Myah:** Like it did to Yue.

**Katara: **Kind of- but Yue was destined to become the moon spirit. That was beyond his control. Realising that helped him cope with it. Suki- well, she's very different. As for Toph, she's an amazing bender- I'll freely admit that. But she's still a blind twelve year old girl.

We all go into this with something to risk.

_The hunting dis__cussion behind us almost turns into a brawl- Katara turns back to settle it. Even her father is shamed by her tirade- and I have to smile. I wonder- if even one member of her little family falls, how will she ever cope?_


End file.
